A Hearty Welcome

A green baller was the first thing that was handed to me the moment I interacted with my Japanese buddy named Yuri. At this gesture, I felt confused but grateful at the same time. He then explained how everyone in our Architecture class had the same green baller as well, as it signified us helping and supporting each other whenever someone in class needed help. This made me feel very welcome, and I really felt the hospitality of the people around me. After the short introductions, the first class I attended was Architectural Design Studio. In this class, my fellow participants and I got the chance to get to know each other’s partners. Everyone was quite shy at first, but our classmates

led the conversations as we started opening up. Our class also interacted by checking each other’s designs and letting them explain their concept or how they came up with such ideas. To be honest, we were quite amazed at how students our age can think of such great ideas which are not only unique but environment-friendly as well. These instances made me realize how the youth can do so much more as long as they are passionate on doing the things they love.

The next two classes we had were English and Mathematics. These classes were now done inside the classroom, and we even got assigned seats. All of my classmates were very kind and accommodating since my seatmate even moved her chair next to mine so we could share her English book while listening to the lesson. My groupmates in Math class also included me in their discussions and gave me some problems to answer. They were guiding me with every step, and we ended up finishing the task quickly. It was a really memorable moment since we spent the remaining time getting to know each other and the two countries – Philippines and Japan.

The whole afternoon was spent on PE class and a campus tour with some Korean students. I considered the day very eventful since I met more people during PE class, and we even got to play tennis with each other. Not only that, but all of us also had the chance to interact with Koreans and Japanese during the short presentation and campus tour. In that program, we got to learn about the three participating countries, their similarities and differences. These brief interactions may mean too simple or be too short, but the faces you get to interact with and the people you get to share conversations with will always be remembered. All of these may just have happened in one day, but I could say that I really felt comfortable and at home because of the kindness and hospitality showed to us.